


You Are My Sunshine (With An Obsidian Heart)

by thebittermountain



Category: Psy-Changeling - Nalini Singh
Genre: A little, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Memory Alteration, Post-Canon, mostly - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:20:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22978267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebittermountain/pseuds/thebittermountain
Summary: You are my sunshine. The love story of two very damaged people, from childhood to adults
Relationships: Kaleb Krychek/Sahara Kyriakus, Vaughn D'Angelo/Faith NightStar
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	You Are My Sunshine (With An Obsidian Heart)

**Author's Note:**

> this is part of a collection/series that are only related because they’re in the same universe

_My Best Friend (Sahara)_

Sahara tucked herself into the natural chair formed by the meeting of branch and trunk, thoughtful, after her new best friend disappeared back toward the house. Kaleb was fascinating, but his presence scared her.

Not because of himself or his powers, but rather what Enrique meant for him, herself, and her father. Sahara’s Silence might be irrefutably flawed, but she was no idiot, even at seven. Councilor Enrique was a barely hidden threat, even to his allies. And Sahara had no illusions about what her father was to Enrique: Leon Kyriakus was a tool—useful, but in the end disposable.

She shuddered suddenly, barely managing to grip tightly to her perch as something about her thoughts triggered a rare shock of Foresight.

  
As Sahara seemingly stared at nothing, she smiled.

_What She Means To Me (Kaleb)_

  
As he stepped into the usual car—for a rarity, Santano hadn’t broken anything he needed for walking—Kaleb hid his latest memories of Sahara behind his rock-solid shields.  
He wasn’t certain what the younger Psy meant to him, but he knew she was far more important to him than was wise under Silence. Far more than was wise with a guardian such as Santano Enrique.

"Kaleb, are you listening?" He nodded at his trainer’s pointed question. He wasn’t even entirely lying. It had taken comparatively little power to set aside processing comprehension for Santano’s words.

Kaleb responded confidently as the car hummed almost-silently away from the house half-hidden by trees—odd for a Psy—for all the world appearing completely focused on his learning.

But a small part of Kaleb was still by the koi pond with the only person who brightened his heart, and made him feel just a little bit less than a monster.

_Two Brothers, Side By Side (Leon & Anthony) _

  
Leon Kyriakus watched out the window and worried. Anthony stood beside him, a quiet, reassuring presence.

The two brothers observed on the girl and boy walking up one of the many paths throughout the property, observed one of the hearts of Clan Nightstar and the deadly boy who she clearly adored.

Finally, Anthony turned to his younger brother, his face—as ever—expressionless, and "knocked" mentally. Leon immediately responded.

  
 _What do we have on him?_ Leon asked almost impatiently. Anthony shook his head almost imperceptibly.

  
 _Enrique is brilliant, you know this. Not to mention a cardinal_ and _an anchor._ If he hadn’t been a Psy born into Silence, Leon would have rolled his eyes.

  
 _I assume you have a point in repeating obvious facts?_ He said shortly instead.

Anthony rested his hands on the windowsill, his eyes tracking Sahara, before answering.

 _Of course. My only confirmation about any of Enrique’s rumors—not to mention ones regarding the boy—has been either the death of my informants or fragmented files._ He turned to look at his brother, whose mental presence had changed slightly at his words.

Leon was staring out at the two young Psy, his mouth a grim line.

Having checked the residence for any trackers, listening devices, and cameras when he’d arrived, Anthony decided to risk resting his hand on Leon’s shoulder, knowing his brother’s affinity for touch.

The other man’s shoulders relaxed immediately upon the touch and the light squeeze that accompanied it, so Anthony accounted it a wise decision.

_Her Heart In My Hands (Kaleb)_

"Uncle Anthony!" Sahara almost shouted with clear delight as she walked in ahead of Kaleb. Kaleb wanted to rub his forehead to stave off a headache.

His best friend—a fact he only admitted in the most private parts of his mind—was fourteen, and still hopeless at concealing her emotions.

It worried Kaleb.

She could fake it well enough in public, but someday she was going to slip up—he knew it—and Kaleb didn’t think he could bear seeing Sahara’s brilliance and light erased into extinction by rehabilitation.

He was tense as he followed her into the house. If he wasn’t wrong—which he rarely was—Sahara’s exclamation meant that Anthony Kyriakus was visiting. The patriarch of Clan NightStar might not be Council, but he was one of the world’s leading business powers.

And more vitally, he was known for his cool, seamless Silence.

Hiding the pain from his sprained ankle, healing spinal fracture, and recently dislocated shoulder with practiced ease, Kaleb stood pointedly behind Sahara, meeting the eyes of both Kyriakus men with an icy stare.

_An Eye On Them, And I Don’t Like What I See (Anthony)_

  
He didn’t miss the way Leon rocked back slightly on his feet as young Krychek took up an almost protective stance behind Sahara.

  
 _What is it?_ He asked his brother. Leon blinked, pulling out cups and nutrition bars for all four of them as he answered.

  
 _I scanned him. One, I believe he felt it._ Anthony eyeballed the boy, who was indeed shooting a narrow-eyed look at his brother’s back.

  
 _You may be correct. What is the other matter?_ Leon filled the water glasses, handing one to Anthony first.

  
 _He has a spinal fracture and a sprained ankle._ He sipped at his water, allowing himself time to think.

  
 _And he’s still standing? That says volumes about Enrique as a trainer. Little of it flattering._ Leon nodded, distributing the rest of the water and nutrition bars.

 _I may not like him being so close to Sahara, but he’s had this trend of injury since the first day they met._ Anthony nodded back as he unwrapped his bar, understanding what his brother wasn’t saying.  
  
 _Perhaps we may salvage him if we could get him away from Enrique. He_ is _protective of Sahara._

  
Unfortunately, the next time either of them saw Kaleb face-to-face was more than five years later, after Sahara’s disappearance and Kaleb’s following rocket-like ascension to power and wealth. After Enrique’s gruesome—though justified—death at the hands of the leopards.

In both men’s minds it was far too late to do anything to help the boy they’d seen grow up.

  
_Almost There (Kaleb)_

  
He knew he was close. Soon, he would find her. Find the reason for all he’d done, the reason he had even a shred of morality left. Find his raison d’être.

He would find Sahara and rain down an earth-shaking wrath on those who had dared to take him from her, who had dared to imprison her.

It was too bad Santano was already dead, he thought briefly as he surfed the Net, his identity safely hidden.

He could have made the elder man regret ever being born. He’d never tell Judd, but Kaleb had long thought the wolves and leopards had made Santano’s death far too brief and far too clean.

_My Way Home (Sahara)_

Somewhere, a woman who had trapped herself in her mind of her own volition woke up.

She still didn’t remember who she was, but something or someone starkly familiar had touched the edges of her mind.

  
She was still hidden, still lost in an internal labyrinth, but Sahara was no longer hidden from the sight of the NetMind.

_My Only Sunshine (Kaleb)_

  
She watched him warily still, but he slept better than he ever had since she disappeared, despite his guilt.

No matter what had happened, she was there, in front of him. Alive. Her memories and mind came back more and more with every day.

  
Sahara was home.

Eventually, she would remember that he would—and had—do anything for her. That he adored her. That she was his reason for trying to be better.

  
And Kaleb hoped that she would someday remember what they meant to each other. As long as she was alive and free, however, he would find a way to be happy with it.

He might be possessive, but he would scramble his own mind before he caged his Sahara again.

_Memories And Heartbreak (Sahara)_

  
As her memories flooded back, she desperately needed the space. She knew it hurt him deeply when she grew distant, but Sahara knew that was never going to stop if he didn’t give her time to stand on her own outside of his shadow. If she didn’t get away from him, she would never heal.

Sahara loved Kaleb, she always had, since almost the first day they met. But she had also spent the formative years of her young adulthood among far more vicious, equally dark and powerful Psy.

If she didn’t spend some time on her own, she’d never learn how to stand up to him again, and the Sahara he once knew would disappear. Forever. She knew this, with every particle, every atom of her heart.

So Sahara Kyriakus took a deep breath, twisted her precious new charm bracelet nervously, waved goodbye to the dangerous, hidden man who held her heart, and ran toward her cousin.

_I Didn’t Know (Faith)_

  
Faith NightStar D’Angelo let out a surprised huff as her cousin’s running hug pushed the breath out of her. She could feel Vaughn’s amused shock, and was therefore far from surprised when he said drily,

"I thought all of you Psy weren’t supposed to have emotions?" Sahara laughed, the sound having a slight hysteric tinge, blushing beneath the permanent dark tan of her skin.

"Well I’ve never been a very good Psy. Kaleb could tell you that." Faith blinked.

"Sahara...how long have you known Ka-Krychek, exactly? I can’t—" She stopped abruptly, her own cheeks growing hot. Vaughn, having far less qualms in regard to manners, wrapped a possessive arm around her as he growled,

"What Red—and I—want to know is what interest Krychek has in you, a Psy who broke silence." Sahara tilted her head as she stepped back from Faith, looking almost catlike herself.

"Red? I guess that suits her. She was always sharp." Vaughn muffled a snort in her hair as Faith glared at her cousin, who continued, unperturbed—other than the bracelet she kept fiddling with.

"I was seven the first time I saw Kaleb. And he was in a wheelchair. We sat by the koi pond while Enrique spoke with my father." Vaughn went hunting-silent against Faith, and she had no doubt his eyes were glowing. Sahara sighed, plopping down on the grass of the clearing, her eyes distant.

"I know who—what—Enrique was. It was the first thing I researched when my mind began to come back. I knew about his first victims—but only from what Kaleb let slip when he was in excruciating pain. And..." She hesitated, her eyes going so blank Faith would have doubted anyone was behind them if her cousin hadn’t kept speaking.

Sahara’s voice was uncomfortably flat, so much so that Faith heard Vaughn sniff the air, then shudder against her, before pulling her flat against him and hiding his face in her neck. She couldn’t blame him, especially with the topic Sahara was discussing.

"I was sixteen. He was twenty-two. Enrique was done with Kaleb’s reluctance to participate in his murders. He found out about me, what I meant to Kaleb. And he tortured us. I could have handled the pain. I danced ballet. So could Kaleb. After all, Enrique had been training him his whole life." She took a shaky breath and paused, looking down to shred the grass to ribbons with her nails.

"It wasn’t just pain, was it?" Faith asked finally, her whole being screaming at the idea of what these two children had gone through. She didn’t want to hear _any_ of this, but she doubted Sahara would open up to Tamsyn, not now, and Sahara clearly needed to tell this to someone, someone who hadn’t seen it.

"No, it wasn’t," her cousin said, still looking down at the ground.

"Enrique didn’t hurt me really, not physically. No, he just forced me to watch Kaleb practically kill himself defending me." Faith sank to her knees, ignoring Vaughn’s grumble.

"Sahara, what else happened?" Her cousin flinched, drawing herself up into a ball.

"Enrique knocked me out. I don’t know what he did next, but I do know he placed a false memory in Kaleb’s head of...of..ofhimviolatingme!" she finished in a high-pitched rush, the words almost inaudible, rocking back and forth in clear agitation.

Vaughn cursed lowly behind her, but his voice had a calm undertone when he asked,

"Goldie, you want to come hide in our lair? It looks like a forest." Sahara stopped rocking, looking up at him.  
  
"Goldie?" She asked, her voice rough, but clear. Vaughn’s shrug was palpable through a the bond, as was the simmering fury beneath his veneer of calm.  
  
"You’re named after a desert, and you have gold hair."

"You’re very creative with nicknames, aren’t you?" She asked, sounding a little calmer. Vaughn shrugged again.

"Does it matter? I got your attention. So, what’s the answer, Goldie?" Sahara clearly deliberated for a few moments before standing up.

_An Idiot Sandwich (Lucas)_

He shook off the weak sting with ease, ignoring the snickering from Hawke, the quiet, judging amusement from Judd, the raucous laughter from most of his sentinels, and the protective dual glare from Vaughn and Faith.

Sahara Kyriakus was shaking out her hand when Lucas shook his head and tried again.

"Welcome to San Fransisco, Ms. Kyriakus. How are you liking it?" She put her hands on her hips.

"That was a far superior try, Mr. Hunter, thank you. And so far, I am preferring the wolves." Lucas winced, but didn’t deny the fairness of her jab. Vaughn had told him her story, and his judgement. His only excuse was that Kaleb Krychek made him and his cat supremely uneasy. More so even than his mother-in-law. And Nikita was a terrifying and ruthless woman.

He sighed, and let Sahara Kyriakus discuss something with Judd that had both of them smirking in a way that he hugely distrusted as he discussed the continued logistics of her visit with Hawke.

_In My Arms (Kaleb)_

  
Silence...was overrated, Kaleb thought the night before he announced the fall of both the Protocol and the Council.

Sahara had fallen asleep on his lap, one arm bracing her head, the other dangling off the sofa.

Slowly, as to keep from disturbing her rest, he attached one more charm to her bracelet. It wasn’t her birthday, but this particular symbol epitomized all she meant to him.

The gold-alloyed metal jangled gently against the other charms as he let her hand drop back down, imagining with what he let himself realize was happiness, her delight when she discovered it in the morning.

He smiled.

_  
How Much I Love You... (Sahara)_

  
Sahara smiled with delighted exhaustion, demanding her baby with a happy imperiousness. Kaleb loomed over them, his face seemingly blank to any observer.  
But unlike most observers, Sahara could feel his fierce pride, delighted disbelief, and concerned fear along their bond.

She leaned into him, and he rested his large hands on her shoulders, massaging gently.  
  
"What’s her name?" Leon Kyriakus asked as he changed out of his medical clothes.

Sahara and Kaleb didn’t even need to share a glance as they said,

  
"Sunshine Zia Kyriakus."


End file.
